For 19 years, Elizabeth Brockwell-Tillman has walked the trails that connect the Gillette Visitor Sand Dune Center to the great outdoors, one route taking people deeper into the woods of P.J. Hoffmaster State Park; another leading more directly to Lake Michigan.

It never gets old.

Despite the many times she has traveled through the thick forest of sugar maples, American beech and Eastern hemlock, and the many children and adults as she has led through the glorious sand dunes, Brockwell-Tillman never takes the scenery for granted.

Each trip only makes her appreciate her surroundings more. It intensifies the need to spread the word about nature, then zero in on West Michigan’s unique geography of lake, forest and dunes.

Elizabeth Brockwell-Tillman

“We are really fortunate that we have these fabulous resources,” Brockwell-Tillman said. “If we didn’t have so many (public) parks, would we even get close to the dunes or Lake Michigan?”

As the park’s interpreter — and a naturalist by training — she is reminded every day that the population is spending less time in nature and more time inside in front of computers and other wonders of technology.

“We have children who visit here, who live in West Michigan, who have never spent time in the woods or beach,” Brockwell-Tillman said. “They don’t know the sounds or the smells or the sights.”

A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study found American kids between 8 and 18 spend an average of 6.5 hours a day indoors using computers, video games, television and their MP3 players. The health implications of sedentary lifestyles are obvious, playing a huge part in the rising incidence of childhood obesity, high blood pressure and other ills.

What to expect: Sorry, no live bats! Program includes a fun DVD and activity.

Total time: 45 minutes.

Seeds, Cones and Nuts

When: 11 a.m. Oct. 22

What to expect: Learn how to identify key tree parts. This program will include an indoor and outdoor portions.

Total time: 45 minutes.

Adults aren’t left out

Gillette Nature Association Member Appreciation and Community open house

When: 6:30 p.m. Nov. 3

Where: Gillette Sand Dune Visitor Center

Guest speaker: Charlie Dewitt, of the Muskegon Nature Club, will talk about the history and ecology of Little Black Lake while showing photographs he has taken over the past three years.

Who can attend: Anyone.

More information: Call 231-798-3573.

But there is another issue at play, something equally as important to one’s health, that scientists call nature deprivation. If children — or adults — seldom or never get outside, they can become “disconnected” from nature in which they live.

They can be strangers to their own environment.

For the 19 years she has been on staff at the Visitor Center, Brockwell-Tillman has administered a spectacular and amazingly effective antidote to the malady. She simply invites schoolchildren on field trips to the center, families camping in Hoffmaster and anyone else to simply walk the trails — and see what they have been missing.

“It’s always a great time to get out here and remember our blessings in this part of the world,” she said.

The Gillette Visitor Center — named for the late E. Genevieve Gillette, one of Michigan’s most dedicated environmentalists — opened in 1976.

From the start, the center has been a link between education, science and the state park just outside its windows.

“We have really fostered many generations of good nature stewards,” Brockwell-Tillman said.

Ironically, she starts many of her field trips inside the Visitor Center with its classrooms and interactive exhibits — and its two-story view dominated by a huge sand dune.

“Not everyone has sand dunes like this,” Brockwell-Tillman said.

Even in a state where sand dunes are the norm, Hoffmaster State Park’s dunes are one of a kind. Most places in Michigan have two or maybe three rows of dunes, she said. At Hoffmaster, there are five or more rows of dunes, making it a “unique” place to visit and study.

The park includes three miles of Lake Michigan beaches. Its habitat is a refuge for 460 species of plants, nearly 90 species of birds and an untold number of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects — all of which become on-the-spot teachable moments for Brockwell-Tillman.

Controlling the deer population

One of the places she points out along the trails is an area identified as a Wildlife/Botanical Experiment to study deer feeding habits and wildflower population. Because its habitat has shrunk over the years — caused by residential building and other factors in the area — the deer population has increased at Hoffmaster State Park, she said.

The deer were eating “understory growth,” wiping out wildflowers and other vegetation necessary to support birds and other wildlife, she said.

Since 2005, deer hunters have been allowed in the park on a limited basis.

Now, because there are fewer deer, the undergrowth is returning, said Pat Whalen, who took over as manager of Hoffmaster State Park and Bass River Recreation Area in May.

This year’s hunts — which require special permits — are scheduled Nov. 19 and Dec. 3, both Saturdays.

“We can see a change in the understory and browse line,” Whalen said, “but it will take a full five or six years to recover.”

Brockwell-Tillman reports an increase in numbers at the Visitor Center this summer, a trend she expects to continue this autumn and winter.

“I can’t tell you how many people said they hadn’t been here in ages, and they couldn’t get over how beautiful it is,” she said.

BY THE NUMBERS

Gillette Visitor Center

Oct. 1, 2010 to Sept. 30, 2011

5,153: The number of school children who visited.

49,355: Total visitors (includes school kids, adults and campers).

It’s a great time to visit

The park and visitor center are open year-round, Whalen said. It is especially beautiful this time of year, Brockwell-Tillman said.

“There’s something really wonderful about fall,” she said.

The temperature is always warmer along the lake this time of year. The trails are less crowded during the summer months. The colors in the woods begin to “intensify” in mid-October, she said.

“We are really fortunate here,” she said.

And if the weather is inclement, the Visitor Center tells the story of the dunes and woods indoors with its exhibits and programs. Just outside, there is a small pond with running water.

In fall, it is not uncommon to see as many as eight species of warblers at one time at the pond.

“This is a great time to get outside,” Brockwell-Tillman said, “and remember why we live here.”

P. J. Hoffmaster State Park tourP. J. Hoffmaster State Park interpreter Elizabeth Brockwell-Tillman leads a field trip tour of second grade students from New Groningen Elementary in Zeeland on October 5, 2011.